Course Schedule

The 28140 section of this course will be taught in person but with the option of occasional remote participation via Zoom.  If students require all remote participation, they must register for the 28149 section of this course, which is identical but web-based.

This course will examine historic and contemporary issues of race within American law and jurisprudence. We will scrutinize how law has been used at the state and federal level to maintain systems of oppression, perpetuate hierarchy and how it has also been used as a tool to remedy those injustices.  Critical Race Theory will be the primary lens through which we analyze the assigned materials. Through this course, students will learn substantive principles dealing with race; study the growing body of legal scholarship known as Critical Race Theory; and examine the inherent potential (and limits) of law to be used for social change.  Grades for the course will be based upon class participation, a group presentation and completion of a paper (20 page double-spaced pages, inclusive of footnotes). Students’ papers may examine any issue concerning race (citizenship, education, health care, housing, criminal justice, etc.) so long as a substantial focus of the paper is an examination of doctrinal, theoretical, and/or policy-based facets of a legal problem and corresponding solutions.

In this interdisciplinary seminar-styled class, students will explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various racial and economic groups in this country. Among the topics we will explore are public health disparities, including the social determinants of health, infection/mortality rates, and long COVID/shortened life expectancies. We also will consider how behavioral responses to masking, social distancing laws, and vaccine mandates varied between races and income groups.

Because of stubborn and systemic racial and income disparities in K-12 and post-secondary education and in congregant facilities, we will consider how students and incarcerated/detained persons responded to (or were able to respond to) lockdowns and how laws/regulations often failed to adequately protect vulnerable populations. We will also explore the disparate effects COVID had in the labor market (including who was allowed to work-from-home) and on housing (in)stability.

Students will read a range of materials that may include law review articles, policy papers, news articles, blog postings, and congressional testimony. There is no assigned textbook. All materials will be available on Canvas.

The first half of each class session will be conducted in small groups that will rotate weekly. There will be a full class discussion for the second half of class.

The final grade will be based on the quality of the participatory contributions made throughout the semester and discussion questions/short reflection posts. Students will also write a final paper (min. 15 pages) that will propose a concrete remedy to one of the racial or income disparities COVID created or exacerbated.

Two of the most important figures in our past concerning especially the degree to which the United States Constitution protected slavery were Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.  Lincoln began as a Whig who, among other things, supported the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 as a necessary compromise to maintain the Union.  He then becomes a Republican who suggests that a “House Divided” cannot stand and ends up engaging in a war that results in the death of 750,000 participants and, of course, with the legal elimination of chattel slavery.  Frederick Douglass, born a slaver in Maryland, becomes probably the most important voice (and certainly the most photographed figure) of the Abolitionist movement.  He begins as a Garrisonian who treats the Constitution as a “Covenant with Death and an Agreement with Hell.”  He ends up giving a speech in Glasgow on how the Constitution, correctly understood, is “anti-slavery.”  And he becomes a friend of Lincoln who pays him a noted, though not uncomplicated, tribute after his death.

This will be a one-credit “reading course.”  Grading will be pass/fail.  What this means, in practice, is that we will meet for seven two-hour sessions during the first half of the spring semester.  The readings will consist entirely of writings and speeches by Lincoln and Douglass (though Stephen A. Douglas may slip in as well should we assign any of the Lincoln-Douglas debates).  There will be no examination or requirement for an extended paper, but each of you will be expected to write a short (400-500 word) response paper each week to the assigned readings, beginning with the first week.

This non-writing seminar will meet every other week to discuss the professor’s book in progress, Academic Freedom, the First Amendment, and the American University.  The book explores the emergence of academic freedom as a distinctive First Amendment right and its relationship to general First Amendment rights of free speech.  It observes that judicial decisions have extended this right to professors, universities, and students, whose interests in academic freedom may conflict.  It also observes that state interests and the constitutional rights of individual citizens may conflict with interests in academic freedom.  Examples of state interests include national security, public health, and the enforcement of laws prohibiting employment discrimination and harassing speech.  Examples individual constitutional rights include free speech, the free exercise of religion, and equal protection.  After reviewing the case law, the book proposes a theory of First Amendment academic freedom to address these complicated issues.  Students will write two to three page reaction papers for every seminar meeting.  Class discussions will address the process of legal scholarship as well as the substantive contents of the book.  The course does not satisfy the law school’s writing requirement.  Grading will be pass/fail.

This course will be taught entirely online via Zoom.

Social media has revolutionized how we share, consume, and interact with all forms of digital content. These changes brought by social media touch on all aspects of our life—including our legal system. This course will discuss the spectrum of legal topics being impacted by social media: marketing, intellectual property, employment, privacy, free speech, and fund raising. You will also explore the role that lawyers in law firms and within organizations face when addressing these changes and the emerging risks. From Facebook to Pinterest, Foursquare to Quora, Instagram to Snapchat. We will explore how these platforms are changing our application of existing laws. The objective of this ready group course is to introduce students to the social media legal issues and the methods being used by attorneys to address these risks and how to identify the next area of social media that will challenge our existing legal norms.  Students will be expected to post weekly reactions to the reading material by finding a new and recent example of the issues raised.  The grade will be based upon a 10 page research paper.

This course is focused on helping those students who do not have jobs waiting for them or are not sure what they want to do when they graduate.  We will also cover how to survive your first year as an associate in a law firm.  This course will provide new attorneys practical, real-life information on how to start your own law practice as either a solo or with others in a small firm. The class will cover a wide variety of topics including marketing, management, work-life balance and technology. The professor worked in a large law firm his first ten years and then started his own firm in 2001. He iwas formally the chairman of the Law Practice Management Committee for the State Bar of Texas. Lectures will be supplemented with guest speakers on specific topics and selected reading assignments. Students may only miss one class. Regular participation in class discussion is required to pass the course. There will also be projects/papers that will be subimitted for grading. This is a graded class.

Note: Students may not use laptops, tablets, smartphones or other electronic devices during class.  

The primary objective of this course is for students to become familiar with and understand how different legal agreements which are universal in all real estate transactions are designed to allocate legal and commercial risk among the relevant parties. In order to present these risk-allocation concepts, the instructor has written a single case study representing an amalgamation of actual commercial real estate transactions which he has been a part of as legal counsel. Additionally, this course will expose students to the numerous legal agreements and due diligence issues that real estate investors and professionals are presented with for virtually all commercial transactions and the process of getting to closing. These legal documents and the concepts that are included within them will be presented in the context of a real transaction and the class will explore why and when they are necessary, what they are intended to accomplish and what legal and risk-related commercial issues should be considered when reviewing them. The course format will be based on a single, case study  of a real estate development transaction, starting with the acquisition of raw land and ending with the sale of a “leased-up”, completed office building to a publicly-traded Real Estate Investment Trust. For each topic, we will be guided by the legal documents that our fictional developer is presented with and analyze the relevant practical and theoretical issues as if the class was dealing with these documents as part of a real-life transaction.  Through the case study and simulated negotiations, the class will have an opportunity to be exposed to and actively deal with real world issues faced by real estate lawyers.

Real Estate Finance for Lawyers covers real estate secured credit transactions.  The course does not require any mathematical calculations.  Students with some knowledge or experience in the industry, such as those who have completed Law 385T (Introduction to Real Estate Law and Practice), will be well prepared for this course. Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Secured Credit (Law 380D) is helpful, but not required. The course will begin with an introduction to the real estate finance industry, including various types of loans, lenders, vocabulary and law. From there, we will cover basic versions of the most common documents used in real estate secured financings, and progress to state of the art documents for large/complex transactions. The course will cover the case and statutory law central to some of the most important provisions. The relative interests of borrowers, lenders and other parties, and possible topics for negotiation, will be discussed throughout the course. Students will find that while this course concentrates on real estate secured lending, it has broad practical application to most business transactions, regardless of whether the client is the Borrower or Lender. Course materials will be supplied by the Professor in PDF format.  

Real Estate Finance for Lawyers covers real estate secured credit transactions.  The course does not require any mathematical calculations.  Students with some knowledge or experience in the industry, such as those who have completed Law 385T (Introduction to Real Estate Law and Practice), will be well prepared for this course. Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Secured Credit (Law 380D) is helpful, but not required. The course will begin with an introduction to the real estate finance industry, including various types of loans, lenders, vocabulary and law. From there, we will cover basic versions of the most common documents used in real estate secured financings, and progress to state of the art documents for large/complex transactions. The course will cover the case and statutory law central to some of the most important provisions. The relative interests of borrowers, lenders and other parties, and possible topics for negotiation, will be discussed throughout the course. Students will find that while this course concentrates on real estate secured lending, it has broad practical application to most business transactions, regardless of whether the client is the Borrower or Lender. Course materials will be supplied by the Professor in PDF format.  

Real Estate Financing is for students with some knowledge or experience in the industry, those who have completed either Law 331K in Fall 2020 (Real Estate Transactions and Practice) or Law 385T in Fall 2021 (Introduction to Real Estate Law and Practice), or with permission from the Professor. Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Secured Credit (Law 380D) is recommended, but not required. The course will begin with an introduction to the real estate finance industry, including vocabulary and law. From there, the course will focus on key loan documents customarily found in real estate financings, and the statutory and case law underlying the contents of those documents. Relative interests of borrowers, lenders and other parties will be discussed throughout the course. While this is not a drafting course per se, drafting opportunities will be provided. This course is intended to be a fairly intensive examination of the legal aspects of real estate financing, with emphasis on typical documents and laws underlying them. Materials to be used will be supplied by the Professor in PDF format. Also, students will be responsible for obtaining copies of the cases discussed in the supplied materials.

If class enrollment is more than 9 students but fewer than 21 students, the grade for the course will be based 50 percent on a final examination and 50 percent on a loan documentation paper, and the curve will not apply. If class enrollment is under 10 students, the grade will be based entirely on a final examination and the curve will not apply.

Real Estate Financing is for students with some knowledge or experience in the industry, those who have completed Law 331K (Real Estate Transactions in 2019 and Real Estate Transactions and Practice in 2020), or with permission from the Professor. Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Secured Credit (Law 380D) is recommended, but not required. The course will begin with an introduction to the real estate finance industry, including vocabulary and law. From there, the course will focus on key loan documents customarily found in real estate financings, and the statutory and case law underlying the contents of those documents. Relative interests of borrowers, lenders and other parties will be discussed throughout the course. While this is not a drafting course per se, drafting opportunities will be provided. This course is intended to be a fairly intensive examination of the legal aspects of real estate financing, with emphasis on typical documents and laws underlying them. Materials to be used will be supplied by the Professor in PDF format. Also, students will be responsible for obtaining copies of the cases discussed in the supplied materials.

Introduction to Real Estate Law and Practice is for students with little or no knowledge or experience in the industry. This course will begin with an introduction to the commercial real estate industry, including the basic vocabulary and law. This course will review legal theory in the areas of contracts, property (including condominium law), agency, tax (federal income tax and property tax), land use, and business entities; and will apply those areas of law to purchase and sale agreements, brokerage arrangements, leases of improved real estate, choice of ownership entity, acquisition and construction financing, eminent domain and insurance. This course will include a discussion of various types of legal practices in the area of real estate law. This course will only tangentially deal with residential real estate. Materials to be used will include materials supplied by the professor in PDF format. There are no formal prerequisites.

Introduction to Real Estate Law and Practice is for students with little or no knowledge or experience in the industry. This course will begin with an introduction to the commercial real estate industry, including the basic vocabulary and law. This course will review legal theory in the areas of contracts, property (including condominium law), agency, tax (federal income tax and property tax), land use, and business entities; and will apply those areas of law to purchase and sale agreements, brokerage arrangements, leases of improved real estate, choice of ownership entity, acquisition and construction financing, eminent domain and insurance. This course will include a discussion of various types of legal practices in the area of real estate law. This course will only tangentially deal with residential real estate. Materials to be used will include materials supplied by the professor in PDF format. There are no formal prerequisites.

Introduction to Real Estate Law and Practice is for students with little or no knowledge or experience in the industry. This course will begin with an introduction to the commercial real estate industry, including the basic vocabulary and law. This course will review legal theory in the areas of contracts, property (including condominium law), agency, tax (federal income tax and property tax), land use, and business entities; and will apply those areas of law to purchase and sale agreements, brokerage arrangements, leases of improved real estate, choice of ownership entity, acquisition and construction financing, eminent domain and insurance. This course will include a discussion of various types of legal practices in the area of real estate law. This course will only tangentially deal with residential real estate. Materials to be used will include materials supplied by the professor in PDF format. There are no formal prerequisites.

Introduction to Real Estate Law and Practice is for students with little or no knowledge or experience in the industry. This course will begin with an introduction to the commercial real estate industry, including the basic vocabulary and law. This course will review legal theory in the areas of contracts, property (including condominium law), agency, tax (federal income tax and property tax), land use, and business entities; and will apply those areas of law to purchase and sale agreements, brokerage arrangements, leases of improved real estate, choice of ownership entity, acquisition and construction financing, eminent domain and insurance. This course will include a discussion of various types of legal practices in the area of real estate law. This course will only tangentially deal with residential real estate. Materials to be used will include a traditional textbook supplemented by materials supplied by the professor in PDF format. There are no formal prerequisites.

This seminar-style course offers students the opportunity to examine more closely one or more issues affecting reentry for individuals who have a criminal history. Designed for students with a particular interest in criminal justice policy, readings will come from a variety of sources, including case law, book chapters, policy reports, academic journals, and investigative accounts. Outside speakers will help ground classroom discussion in practice. Weekly attendance and active class participation, including introducing readings and formulating questions for speakers, is expected and will count toward the final grade. Areas of focus include barriers to employment and housing, the role of substance use and behavioral health challenges, recidivism and public safety, probation and parole practices, and criminal background checks . The course is open to LBJ graduate students.

Prerequisites: Students should possess a basic understanding of the criminal justice system and the role of reentry. Relevant experience could include enrollment in the Criminal Defense, Civil Rights, or Immigration Clinics, other coursework, or prior work or volunteer experience. Interested students must submit an email to the professor indicating their interest and relevant background, as well as a copy of their (unofficial) law school transcript. Contact the professor with any questions.

Note that this course has been retitled but remains substantively the same and students who have already taken Criminal Justice: Reentry will not be allowed to enroll.

This seminar-style course offers students the opportunity to examine more closely one or more issues affecting reentry for individuals who have a criminal history. Designed for students with a particular interest in criminal justice policy, readings will come from a variety of sources, including case law, book chapters, policy reports, academic journals, and investigative accounts. Outside speakers will help ground classroom discussion in practice. Weekly attendance and active class participation, including introducing readings and formulating questions for speakers, is expected and will count toward the final grade. Areas of focus include barriers to employment and housing, the role of substance use and behavioral health challenges, recidivism and public safety, probation and parole practices, and criminal background checks . The course is open to LBJ graduate students.

Prerequisites: Students should possess a basic understanding of the criminal justice system and the role of reentry. Relevant experience could include enrollment in the Criminal Defense, Civil Rights, or Immigration Clinics, other coursework, or prior work or volunteer experience. Interested students must submit an email to the professor indicating their interest and relevant background, as well as a copy of their (unofficial) law school transcript. Contact the professor with any questions.

Note that this course has been retitled but remains substantively the same and students who have already taken Criminal Justice: Reentry will not be allowed to enroll.

This seminar-style course offers students the opportunity to examine more closely one or more issues affecting reentry for individuals who have a criminal history. Intended for students with a particular interest in criminal justice policy, readings will come from a variety of sources, including case law, book chapters, policy reports, academic journals, and investigative accounts. Outside speakers covering the criminal justice spectrum will help ground classroom discussion in practice. Consistent attendance and active class participation, including introducing readings and formulating questions for speakers, is expected and will count toward the final grade. Areas of particular focus will include barriers to employment and housing, mental illness and behavioral health treatment, recidivism and public safety, pre-release reentry programming, and criminal background check practices. The course is open to LBJ graduate students.

Prerequisites: Students should possess a basic understanding of the criminal justice system and the role of reentry. Relevant experience could include enrollment in the Criminal Defense, Civil Rights, or Immigration Clinics, other coursework, or prior work or volunteer experience. Interested students must submit an email to the professor indicating their interest and relevant background, as well as a copy of their (unofficial) law school transcript. Contact the professor with any questions.

This course will meet weekly for the semester. Field trips and other extracurricular opportunities will be available as scheduling permits.

This seminar-style course offers students the opportunity to examine more closely one or more issues affecting reentry for individuals who have a criminal history. Intended for students with a particular interest in criminal justice policy, readings will come from a variety of sources, including case law, book chapters, policy reports, academic journals, and investigative accounts. Outside speakers covering the criminal justice spectrum will help ground classroom discussion in practice. Consistent attendance and active class participation, including introducing readings and formulating questions for speakers, is expected and will count toward the final grade. Areas of particular focus will include barriers to employment and housing, mental illness and behavioral health treatment, recidivism and public safety, pre-release reentry programming, and criminal background check practices. The course is open to LBJ graduate students.

Prerequisites: Students should possess a basic understanding of the criminal justice system and the role of reentry. Relevant experience could include enrollment in the Criminal Defense, Civil Rights, or Immigration Clinics, other coursework, or prior work or volunteer experience. Interested students must submit an email to the professor indicating their interest and relevant background, as well as a copy of their (unofficial) law school transcript. Contact the professor with any questions.

This course will meet weekly for the semester. Field trips and other extracurricular opportunities will be available as scheduling permits.

Accelerating technological innovation is dramatically altering the financial services landscape.  By disintermediating and disrupting existing relationships, it is enabling the emergence of new business models, products and market participants.   But what are the rules for this revolution?  Or are there rules?   How can lawyers counsel revolutionary entrepreneurs?  How do regulators grapple with the associated challenges?  This course will provide students a framework to consider these questions. We will use as our focal points two emerging and potentially transformational technologies: the development of blockchain distributed ledger technologies, and advances in the application of artificial intelligence to financial services.  We will begin with administrative models of regulation and use that framework to critically assess the way that regulators have utilized existing authorities to respond to the myriad developments in these fields.  Substantive issues will include anti-money laundering, securities and commodities regulation, consumer protection and data privacy.  A consistent theme will be the challenges of developing appropriate regulatory responses to applications of rapidly evolving technologies, and, from the other perspective, that of counseling change agents in an ambiguous regulatory environment.  This course is taught by a professor with a 35-year regulatory enforcement career that included positions as a senior SEC enforcement official and as a partner in a global law firm representing clients in defense of enforcement actions, and who has deep experience with these challenges from both perspectives.      

Accelerating technological innovation is dramatically altering the financial services landscape.  By disintermediating and disrupting existing relationships, it is enabling the emergence of new business models, products and market participants.   But what are the rules for this revolution?  Or are there rules?   How can lawyers counsel revolutionary entrepreneurs?  How do regulators grapple with the associated challenges?  This course will provide students a framework to consider these questions. We will use as our focal points two emerging and potentially transformational technologies: the development of blockchain distributed ledger technologies, and advances in the application of artificial intelligence to financial services.  We will begin with administrative models of regulation and use that framework to critically assess the way that regulators have utilized existing authorities to respond to the myriad developments in these fields.  Substantive issues will include anti-money laundering, securities and commodities regulation, consumer protection and data privacy.  A consistent theme will be the challenges of developing appropriate regulatory responses to applications of rapidly evolving technologies, and, from the other perspective, that of counseling change agents in an ambiguous regulatory environment.  This course is taught by a professor with a 35-year regulatory enforcement career that included positions as a senior SEC enforcement official and as a partner in a global law firm representing clients in defense of enforcement actions, and who has deep experience with these challenges from both perspectives.      

Accelerating technological innovation is dramatically altering the financial services landscape.  By disintermediating and disrupting existing relationships, it is enabling the emergence of new business models, products and market participants.   But what are the rules for this revolution?  Or are there rules?   How can lawyers counsel revolutionary entrepreneurs?  How do regulators grapple with the associated challenges?  This course will provide students a framework to consider these questions. We will use as our focal points two emerging and potentially transformational technologies: the development of blockchain distributed ledger technologies, and advances in the application of artificial intelligence to financial services.  We will begin with administrative models of regulation and use that framework to critically assess the way that regulators have utilized existing authorities to respond to the myriad developments in these fields.  Substantive issues will include anti-money laundering, securities and commodities regulation, consumer protection and data privacy.  A consistent theme will be the challenges of developing appropriate regulatory responses to applications of rapidly evolving technologies, and, from the other perspective, that of counseling change agents in an ambiguous regulatory environment.  This course is taught by a professor with a 35-year regulatory enforcement career that included positions as a senior SEC enforcement official and as a partner in a global law firm representing clients in defense of enforcement actions, and who has deep experience with these challenges from both perspectives.      

REGULATION OF LANDS AND BUILDINGS:

USING OLD TOOLS TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES OF NEW CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY

This will be a course on land use regulation which will include platting, zoning, building permits, and other laws (mostly federal laws aimed at other than land use policy goals) as subjects. The course will include a significant section on the development process so that students might better understand the application of laws and policies to creating or renovating the built environment. This year, we will look at climate change policies at the governmental and private capital markets levels, and we will look also at the subject of if and how all the policy goals can be accomplished in a way that allows for affordability in the residential parts of the built environment. No textbook is used. The instructor provides the materials in pdf form.